The Charade
by Steph Malfoy
Summary: Rum comes to Heartland and poor Ty has to deal with a drunk Amy... who quite likes rum... Drink up me ‘earties, yo ho! Yo ho, yo ho! A pirate’s life for me!
1. Part I

**Every category needs a story like this and Heartland doesn't have one--**_**yet**_**. It's obscene, I tell ya. So here it is. **

**Notes: This is AU and Amy and Ty aren't together yet. And Brett is just one of Amy's friends… if there was a Brett in the actual series then I have forgotten about her so you should just do the same!**

_**The Charade**_

It's amazing, really. Not really any other way to describe it. Damn it. I never knew that mixing drinks could go so horribly wrong. Well, yes, I suppose I _did_ know, but that is entirely beside the point. Especially mojitos. How hard is it? Two parts Sprite, one part rum, sugar, lime, spearmint... Did I mention the rum? Because you need the rum. Easy peasy. But, somehow, when you have no spearmint, sugar and only less then one liter of Sprite for three people, things can go horribly array... or not so horribly, but I suppose that depends on how you feel about the rum. Me, personally? I quite like it. I'll admit it, its intense straight, but I digress. It's not so wretched tasting after the second-- or third, whichever comes first-- glass.

So, I suppose, that in all actuality, it wasn't _really_ mojitos that we had... more like rum with a splash of Sprite... for the first glass, anyway.

"Wait!" I cry out dramatically and throw a palm up in the air. "I've got it," I say with a prideful feeling swelling up in my chest that makes me even more light headed. "Where _has_... _the_ rum gone?"

We collapse in giggles, and I'm not even quite sure what is so funny. I've the vague idea that it was something I said though. Whatever that was, I can't quite recall it at the moment... but I think it had something to do with rum. I quite like rum.

In our giggles, Soraya tips over onto me and I tip over onto the grass in a very domino-esq fashion.

When my stomach feels as though it might split straight open, I take a few deep, rather giggly breaths and heave myself back into a sitting position. My arms and legs flail in the air in front of me, but once I am properly seated on my butt once more, a giant grin plastered to my face and rocking back and forth slightly, I feel it is a massive success.

"Well," I say. I remember what I had been saying and I make my best serious face. "Where _has_ the rum gone, Brett?"

She looks at me as if I've grown a second head... and, at this point, I'm not completely certain that I haven't. "Well I--"

"It's right here!" I screech shrilly, unable to contain myself and my news for even a moment longer. I lunge at Brett with the bottle of rum. I press it to her lips. "Bottoms up!"

Brett pushes me away. "I've still got some left," she says, indicating her still filled cup from the first round of mojitos. A giant chunk of crudely cut lime bobs miserably in the liquid.

I stumble backwards and take another swig from the bottle. I no longer have to repress a shudder when I swallow.

"What do we do now?" Soraya whines next to me.

"Hmmm," I begin my muse. But that is all I have. My Muse has failed me.

"I've got it!" Soraya brandished the rum bottle about madly, slopping the last of the rum onto the grass.

"What?" Brett asks. Her words are much too... neat, and put together. She is entirely too sober for my liking.

Soraya frowns. She giggles. "Well I've quite forgotten now." She throws her hands up and the empty rum bottle sails over her shoulder to land with a_ thunk _in the grass behind us.

We are positively silent for a short moment and Soraya and I stare at the bottle lying in the grass with wide, innocent eyes. A horse's neigh reaches us from the nearby barn and it is enough to set off our spiels of giggles once more. Brett giggles a little too. Either she has had more to drink then I thought, or she is laughing at us. At the present moment, both options seem okay.

I try to stand, but my body feels too heavy and unbalanced so I collapse back onto the grass halfway through. I sit for a moment, pondering thoughtfully. "Let's play charades!" I say. Soraya claps gleefully. Brett only watches on like an amused... Brett. "I go first," I announce.

This time I managed to make it to my feet, after two or three tries. I find running to be easier then walking. In my stuttering, stumbling stride I manage to make it to the lonesome rum bottle. I grasp it in my fingers and run back to where my friends wait. I find that I do not quite recall how to stop my legs so I simply throw myself to the ground. There. Problem solved.

I get to my feet once more and clear my throat. "Why is the rum gone?" I exclaim loudly and flourish the rum bottle in front of me. "Who am I?"

"You don't talk in charades," Brett says.

Hmmm. "Pish posh."

"Oh! I know!" Soraya giggles.

I point to her. "Yes?"

"Johnny Depp!"

"Actually, I was going for Jack Sparrow but... yay! You win." I frown. "What does she win, Brett?"

Brett looks around before tearing a handful of grass up from the ground. She throws it at Soraya. Most of it falls shorts and twirls uselessly to the ground but the roots land in Soraya's lap. It's even funnier then the horse neighing.

"Your turn, S'raya." I fall back onto the grass and let the rum bottle roll away from me.

Soraya stands up, using my shoulder as leverage. Once on her feet, she sways dangerously. "Hmmm," she says. "I've got it!"

"No talking," Brett quips.

"Oh hush," I admonish with a wave of my hand.

"But that's not how you play," Brett whines.

"Well then I'm making an amendment. Henceforth..." I giggle. What an odd word. I wonder why I've never used it when I'm sober... I will have to try it sometime. "... henceforth," I continue, "all players may choose to speak aloud whilst playing in this game of charades." My vocabulary is quite impressive, if I do say so myself.

"Is it even legal to make amendments?" That's from Brett, of course.

I shrug. "Then I'm making and amendment that says making amendments is legal. All in favor of the two aformen--things say... rum!"

"Rum!" Soraya and I say jollily.

"Okay, S'raya. Your turn."

"Okay, I've got it," she says. She clears her throat, preparing herself for something. "We're devils and black sheep—" she stops singing with a frown. "I'm missing something…" she ponders, tapping a finger on her chin. "Oh, I've got it!" she snatches up the rum bottle. "Okay, I'm ready now…" She starts singing again, brandishing the rum bottle and skipping drunkenly around in a circle. "We're devils and black sheep, really bad eggs!Drink up me 'earties, yo ho! Yo ho, yo ho! A pirate's life for me!" She throws her arms out wide at the end and falls back onto the ground. "Who am I?"

"Jack Sparrow!" I screech.

"Well I was looking for Johnny Depp but… yay! You win!" She claps her hands. "What does she win, Brett?"

Another clod of grass flies and this time it lands in my lap. This time it's even funnier then the first.

-------

"Drink up me 'earties, yo ho… yo ho, yo ho. A pirate's life for me," I giggle as I hum.

I am walking around the barn. Soraya and Brett have fallen asleep, and sleep is the last thing on my mind. Walking feels funny, I feel like I'm riding on a wave and my feet feel very light on the ground. My head is light and my smile big. I don't have any idea where I am going or why. But it hardly seems to matter at the moment.

"Amy?" a voice says my name.

I turn around. "Ty!" I yelp when I see that the dark figure approaching me is in fact, only him. I trip over to him. He catches me before I can fall flat on my face, though. "What are _you_ doing here?" I ask him with a goofy smile on my face. I let him hold me up.

He stares at me. "Are you drunk?"

I giggle and shift my eyes from side to side. I giggle some more. "No..."

"You are," he accuses me with a frown. He looks me up and down. "What happened to your clothes?"

"Uh," I say. I should blush, but I don't have much modesty left at the moment. Sometime during the nights festivities I ended up barefoot, wearing only a pair of royal blue athletic shorts and a black sports bra. I'm not quite sure when this happened. The cool night air feels nice on my hot skin though, so I do not particularly morn their loss. "They're gone I s'pose," I mumble, halfheartedly attempting to solve the mystery.

"Apparently."

My smile must stretch from cheek to cheek. "I have a secret," I say around my giggles. I lean in closer to him, my arms falling loosely around his neck. My heart makes a strange jump. _Whoosh_. I giggle some more. "I like rum."

"Are you alone?"

"S'raya and Bert are here but they fell asleep."

"Bert?" Ty repeats.

I wave a hand. "Yes, of course. You've met her."

Ty eyes me. "You mean _Brett_?"

I blink once. Twice. Three times. "That's what I said." Obviously.

"How did this happen?" Ty sighs. I am confused. "How did you get drunk?"

I try to stop it, but a giggle emerges from my mouth despite my noble efforts. Silly Ty. "Well," I say, stepping back from him. "There was some rum… I quite like rum, you know." I try to skip around him but fail miserably. I suppose I'm lucky that Ty was there to catch me… again. _Whoosh_.

"You need to sit down," Ty says.

I pout. "But I only just got up!" I whine. "And let me tell you, mister," I point a finger at him, "that was no easy feat." I collapse onto his shoulder in a fresh round of giggles.

I push away from him and spin in circles, my arms flying out by my sides. I stop suddenly and sway dangerously on the spot. I jump around to face him and he catches me by the waist to keep me upright. _Whoosh_. I giggle. It takes the world a moment to catch up with me. "If I spin around or move really fast everything moves really slowly when I stop," I tell Ty, not sure if I really make much sense at all.

"Then perhaps you shouldn't do that," he says.

"It's funny though," I say and I do it again. I giggle as everything slowly slides back into focus.

I try to spin again but Ty takes a hold of me once more and guides me backwards to the hay and pushes my down by my shoulders.

"Stay there," he says to me, kneeling down in front of me so I can see his face. My heart makes that whooshing feeling again. _Whoosh_. Have his eyes always been that particular shade of green? It really is quite lovely… "I'm going to go get... what's so funny?"

"Huh?" I hardly realize I had started laughing.

"You were laughing," Ty says slowly.

I grin and cross my legs, folding my hands daintily on top of my knees. I start to tilt to the side but Ty catches me and rights me again. "My heart keeps making a funny whooshing feeling," I say giddily. Ty looks awkward, like he doesn't quite know what to do. I have the looming feeling that that was not something I should have said... but, alas, it has been said now. Nothing can be done about it now. I giggle again and clap a hand over my mouth. I blink up at Ty.

Ty's hands let go over my shoulders and I pout. "Right then," he says. "Stay here. I'm going to go get you some water."

I watch him walk away. What a fine butt he has. Amazing the things you notice while inebriated...

When Ty returns with a bottle of water in hand, I am fingering several pieces of hay.

"Here," he says, placing the bottle in my hands.

I try to take it but tilt it over too far and some of the water slops onto my bare legs. It's cold, but still quite funny.

Ty guides the bottle up to my mouth and holds it while I take a drink.

"This is amazing," I say, back to studying the pieces of hay again.

Ty sets the water bottle aside. "What is?"

"This," I brandish the hay in his face and giggle as it brushed against his nose. _Whoosh_. "A marvelous invention, don't you think? I'd like to meet the jolly ol' bloke that invented this and say to him, 'hey, what a downright amazing thingy-ma-jig to have invented'."

Ty blinks. "Yes," he finally says, prying the hay from my hands. I let it go without much of a fight. "It certainly is."

He sits down next to me on the bale. I scoot over closer to him and lean my head against his shoulder... nice, strong shoulder. Yum. _Whoosh_. Ty puts an arm around my shoulders.

We stare up at the cloudless sky.

"I can't believe you're _drunk_," he says.

"Didn't mean to. S'raya messed up the _moo-hee-toes_. Rum with a splash of Sprite... and then none. I like rum." I giggle.

"Well, no more rum for you," Ty says.

"Aw," I pout. I crane my neck back and look up at him with wide eyes. I blink several times in rapid succession. I'd heard Ashley Grant rave about the wonders it did to guys, but it only made my vision spotty. "Don't be such a spoil sport."

Ty chuckles and I can feel the sound vibrate on my back. _Whooshwhooshwhoooooosh_.

"I'm not _really_ drunk," I claim after a moment of silence. "See, I can point to that star up there in the sky." And I do just that.

"Okay, Amy," Ty says. "There are many stars up there."

"I know. I'm pointing to that one," I say matter-of-factly. "Don't you see it?" It really is quite simple. Really.

"Of course," he says.

"I can point to you, too." I turn my finger on him and, not accounting for how much closer his face is to me then my star had been, I jab him in the nose. "Oops," I giggle as he rubs his nose ruefully. "I'm sorry," I say. "Do you forgive me?"

He looks down at me, his eyes shinning by some invisible light. _Whoosh_. "Of course I forgive you."

I sigh. "Good. I don't know what I'd do if you were mad at me."

Ty laughs again. _Whooshwhooshwhooshwhooshwhooooooooooosh_. His arm squeezes briefly around my shoulders. Need I become repetitive with the whooshing? "You're silly, Amy."

My response is another giggle. I bury my face into his chest in an attempt to smoother it. It doesn't work.

Ty scoots backwards, taking me with him, until he is leaning back against the barn wall.

"What are you like drunk?" I blurt out after a moment. I can feel him look down at me. "I want to see you drunk..." I say without waiting for an answer. Then I frown. "But the rum's all gone..."

"Another night then," Ty says with another laugh.

"We could get more rum..." I say helpfully.

"I think you've had enough rum for one night."

"Where has the rum gone...?" I say slowly, staring at Ty's thigh. I place my hand there and feel the rough fabric of his jeans on my fingers. I curl my legs under me. Now my knee is touching his. _Whoosh_.

"Where indeed," Ty says softly. I haven't the faintest clue what he's talking about, I am much too distracted to think about it at any length.

I move my hand lightly down his leg to his knee. I circle it a couple times, just experimenting. Ty's takes a sharp breath. I smile. Was that something _I_ did? I move my hand lightly up his leg and over his hip, stopping at his waist. I toy with the hem of his shirt.

"Amy," Ty says.

"Yes?" I look up at him with innocent eyes, but I don't move my hand. I press the pads of my fingers to the bare skin I've found at his waist. His stomach muscles contract. I find that I want to touch them. I thought this would scare me but all it does is... make my heart _whoosh_ like mad.

"Stop that," he says. He doesn't mean it though. I can tell.

"Stop what?" I say. My fingers drift along to his stomach. His muscles are tensed... all the better for me to feel the hard ridges of them. My heart is like a rollercoaster. W_hooshwhooshwhooshwhooooooooooooshwhooshwhooshwhoooooooooooshwhoooshwhoooooooooooooooosh_... _whoosh._

"You know what?" he says.

"Tell me," I whisper. I spread my fingers out on his stomach. Ty takes a shaky breath and I feel strangely proud of myself.

Despite what he's saying, the arm that had been around his shoulders drops to my waist and his fingers trace tentative circles on the bare skin of my back. Now I seem to be draped across his lap, with one hand up his shirt. And I rather like the position.

"I know what you're thinking and you can't..."

"Can't do what, Ty?" I ask. I stare up at him.

He stares at me for a long moment. His green eyes smolder as they lock with mine. _Whoosh_.

"You can't touch me like that," he finally says, he voice low and very close to my ear.

I shiver. "I'll stop when you stop," I bargain. Rum makes you bold. I would never do this if I was sober. Never. I'd sooner catch fire from the amount my face would be blushing. But I liked being bold. It was powerful. And frightening. But good. Yes, good. _Very_ good...

"Amy," he groans. "This is illegal."

"What is?" I ask, his words don't make sense to me.

"I'm nineteen, you're sixteen," he says. "Do the math. It's illegal for me to do anything with you." He frowns. "Just like the rum you've drunk, might I add."

"But I liked the rum..."

Ty sighs again. "I _know_ that."

I sit up, and I find myself sitting on Ty's lap. My hand slips out from under his shirt and I place them both on his shoulders, I finger the ends of his hair. I vaguely think he needs a trim. But I like it long, falling over his ears and the back of his neck. Ty's arms slid around my waist and hold my tightly. I can _see_ that he really wants to let me go.

"Don't you like me, Ty?" I ask softly.

He's silent for a moment. His mouth opens several times and then closes before any words can come out. "Of course I do," he finally says. "I like you _too_ much. That's the problem."

"Problem," I repeat. I smile. "I like you too," I say, as if it were a natural part of conversations. And I do. Like him, I mean. I realize it just as I say it. Feeling bold with this new discovered realization, I say, "So what's the problem then? If I like you and you like me...?" I trail off and leave the question hanging in the air.

"It's illegal," Ty repeats. "I don't want to get arrested for taking advantage of a minor."

"But you're taking advantage of me," I argue, my head is swimming at the close proximity we are to each other. "It's consensual," I say, proud, once more, of my stellar vocabulary.

"No one will care," Ty says.

"But I care," I say.

"But you're drunk," he says next, his fingers splaying across my lower back. One hand moves up my bare back, running along the bottom of my sports bra.

"Not so much anymore," I say. I'm not so sure I'm telling the truth though. I still feel delightfully happy and giggly. But, by now, that could be due to any number of reasons. But Ty still clearly thinks that I am inebriated. "Well," I say, moving on, "I wouldn't do_ this _normally."

"Don't I know it," Ty murmurs. His eyes trail down my half naked body. He shakes his head and his eyes snap back up to mine. "But that doesn't change the fact that this is _illegal_."

"Is it really illegal though?" I ask. "Or maybe just a little bit illegal?" It's brilliant, I think.

"_A little bit illegal_?" Ty repeats me. "It's either illegal or it's not… and this certainly _is_ illegal." He adds softly, "Unfortunately."

I get a sudden idea. Sober Amy would hide under a rock at its boldness but Drunk Amy is planning on embracing it to its fullest. I'm finding I like Drunk Amy a bit better. She's more exciting. I'll have to take some pointers from her.

I lean closer to Ty. I place my lips at his ear and I know my chest—all of my size 34B of it— is very close to his face. His hands grip my back and I can feel his breath on my neck. _Whooshwhooshwhooshwhooshwhooshwhoosh_.

"So would it be very naughty of me to kiss you then?" Ty's breath catches and his hands press tighter on my back. My plan is working quite nicely. "Would that make me a very bad girl, Ty?" I press one step closer. And it proves to be the final step; Ty grips my face in between his two large hands and presses his lips against mine. My legs are straddling him and I arch my back, pressing myself closer to him. My hands knot in his hair, keeping him close to me. His hands drift down my sides and I gasp aloud, my mouth opening underneath Ty's lips. I gasp again as I feel Ty's tongue touch mine. His hands grip my hips, holding me to him. My heart stutters and jumps about. _Whooshwhooshwhooshwhooshwhooshwhoosh_.

"Yo ho, yo ho! A pirate— oh!"

Ty breaks apart from me faster then… anything.

I turn and see Soraya standing there, watching us with wide eyes and a huge grin. She sways a little on the spot but manages to keep her balance. "Sorry! Sorry! I'm leaving! Continue!" It takes a moment for her to go away though. She does though, singing loudly once more. "Drink up me 'earties, yo ho!"

I look back at Ty. It looks like he's thinking very hard about something. I lean in and kiss him again and his internal struggle seems to stop. But he pushes me away with a groan before things can get good again.

"We can't, Amy," he says softly, pushing some of the hair that's escaped from my ponytail behind my ears. "I'd love to, but we can't."

"No one has to know," I reason.

He's silent. His hands are still on my hips. They slide around my waist and down my bottom to the backs of my thighs. I shiver in delight. _Whooshwhooshwhooshwhooshwhooshwhooooooo_—

"Fine," he relents.

I grin and try to kiss him again but he won't let me. I pout. "But you said fine."

"Not now," he amends.

"When?"

"Tomorrow," he says, "when you're sober… or the next day, when you're not hung-over. We'll go out to dinner."

I perk up at this. "Will there be rum?"

"No."

"Boo," I say, sticking out my lower lip. Ty laughs at me. "You're ruining all the fun. First you don't let me have anymore rum—I love rum, you know—and then you won't let me kiss you anymore. I like kissing you. Just as much as I like rum. And that's a lot," I ramble.

Ty laughs at me again. "You won't like the rum much tomorrow."

I frown. "Do you like kissing me too, Ty?"

He's silent for a moment. "I do."

I perk up. "As much as you like rum?"

"I… of course, Amy."

I smile and turn around his arms so that I can lean against his chest again. "Good. I'm glad." Now his hands were on my stomach. _Whoosh_.

"You're a very entertaining drunk," he says.

I grin and giggle some more.

"And very happy and giggly," he adds.

I tilt my head back against his shoulder and stare up at him. I kiss him quickly on the cheek. My head is against his shoulder before he can catch me. I feel his eyes on my and I collapse in a fit of giggles once more, curling into his chest.

"And very naughty, too," he adds.

I giggle some more.

We look up at the sky in silence. I start to giggle a couple times at absolutely nothing. Ty's hands stay securely on my hips and I like it. I don't ever want to move from this spot.

The silence feels overpowering. "I like rum," I say, just to hear something.

"You have made that perfectly clear." Ty's voice rumbles on my back and I find that I like it. I must keep him talking.

"Why has the rum gone?"

Ty sighs and I giggle once more. Things are looking up.

_Whoosh._

**hmmm. Isn't Amy a lovely drunk? I'm quite like her drunk, too: very happy and giggly. And I've also pulled the whole I'm-not-drunk-I-can-point-at-that-star-right-there thing. And there's always that one kid who swears up and down that they can make mojitos… ::sigh:: But I suppose lack of proper ingredients isn't **_**really**_** their fault… ANYWAYS. I know you like this pointless, plotless little story… I know you did. A nice little read to forget about school starting tomorrow… and the fact that I STILL haven't started my summer work… uh-oh…**

**Make me happy with a REVIEW!**

**But seriously. Don't try making mojitos unless you can do it properly… and a little bit of rum goes a long way… just remember that… I learned the hard way… well, I dunno if it was **_**hard**_**… But the point is, there's a reason there's a drinking age—even if Europeans don't **_**really**_** seem to care about it. Drink responsibly, and if you're going to drink do so with a small group of close friends… around a bonfire on a beach in Rhodes… but there's not always a Ty there to catch you, so be careful, ladies.**

**Why has the rum gone? That is thy question of life,**

**Steph Malfoy **


	2. Part II

**I guess I have to agree with a lot of you… a hung-over Amy is too good to pass up. ****And**** hey.**** You never know. Maybe our ****drunken**** Ty will be coming up eventually…**

**And by the way, **An Angel With Clipped Wings**, I absolutely ADORED your review! I laughed hysterically. Why I have yet I completely understand. Here it is: **

_Is it Amy being naughty or Ty...__hm__W__ho __knows._

**MARVELOUS QUESTION!!! I never actually thought about it like that… maybe that was why it was so funny…**** and, you know, Ty was feeling inspiration for this chapter… so, here's to you!**

_**The Charade**_

**Part II**

I slowly come to. I think, hey, it's kind of cold in my room, who turned the air-conditioning on? But my sleep is too deep to fully ponder the question. I roll over and two things happen at the same time: first, something, actually many something's, many sharp, stiff something's, jab into my back and I butt heads with a wooden wall. And all I can think now is, this is definitely NOT my bed.

But my eyes seem to be glued together and I can't be bothered with opening them. I don't even think I'm awake yet.

"Amy…" my name buzzes around my ears and I unthinkingly swat it away. My hand flits gently across a hard surface and now there is a laugh. I moan and roll back over the other way. Now my eyes do fly open. I find myself suddenly suspended in the air and falling. Something catches me around the waist and I am once more lying on my back on the prickly surface.

I have the feeling that I should be wondering where I am and what is going on. But I can't even summon up an ounce of surprise. Or fright. The bright sun feels good on my bare stomach. So I'm not in my room. I'm outside. Someone is clearly here with me. I don't seem to be wearing a substantial amount of clothing.

So what? What does any of it matter in the grand scheme of things, really?

A hand pushes the hair out of my face. It's not my hand. "Amy," the voice says again. And it's definitely not my voice.

I crack my eyes open but the sun feels too bright for some reason so I close them again. I groan.

"Come on, Amy," the voice says again. It's definitely a male voice. Unless my voice is rather deep and manly in the mornings. I certainly _hope_ not. "It's time to get up."

I want to try my hand at bartering but my tongue is glued to the roof of my mouth so I can't be completely sure how it came off. A sound similar to a gurgled half moan emerges from my lips.

Whoever this person is that is with me laughs and I have the vague feeling that I've heard this laugh quite a number of times before. But his laughing is irritating. I won't stand for it. I wave my hand around blindly, stubbornly refusing to open my eyes even a crack. My hand flails back and forth until it catches something. Something… _stubbly_. I pat the person's cheek a few times, much to their obvious amusement, before it catches.

Stubbly.

Maybe that's what does it.

I open my eyes and stare up into the face of the man. He looks very familiar. It takes me a moment to figure it out. And then it hits me. "Ty!" I yelp and fly into a sitting position. And then the next thing hits me: the sun. It assaults my eyes and all I can see is little white spots in front of my eyes. I toppled off of the hay bale I've apparently been sleeping on and sprawl on the ground. My head pounds. My mouth is horribly dry and foul tasting. I rest my forehead in the dirt and groan.

Ty clears his throat from above me. "Amy?"

I slowly lift my head and squint into his face. His eyebrows are scrunched in the middle, like he is worried. But the corners of his lips twitch and his emerald eyes twinkle, like he is amused.

The sun is too much to bear. I drop my head back to the ground and groan again.

"I don't feel so good, Ty," I say, my voice is muffled by the ground. Ty laughs. I don't think it is very funny, though. I am all but breathing in dirt at the moment. I roll onto my back and want to hide my face again when the sun catches me. I throw an arm across my eyes.

"What am I doing out here, Ty?" I manage to say.

Ty is silent for a moment. "You don't… uh… you don't remember last night?"

I am silent. Of course I do. How could I forget? It's just rather embarrassing to think about, much less admit to.

I can tell that Ty is waiting for an answer. "Rum," I mumble.

That seems to be funny to him because he laughs again.

"I had no idea you were so fond of rum," he says.

I am silent. But the truth is, I was as well privy to this little fact.

Ty is still laughing to himself. "At least you're not a mean drunk." He says it like it is something to be proud of. "On the contrary, you're quite an am_azing_ drunk."

I snort. "Would you rather I beat you up then…" I gulp as my face is engulfed by hot flames. "… do other things to… you?" I squeak.

Ty is silent and so am I. My modesty returns with full force and practically punches me in the chest. I realize now that I am lying on the ground in front of Ty. Wearing practically no clothing. After I spent all night sleeping next to him. Outside. And that was after I was basically all over him. Oh, God. How embarrassing. I may never be able to look him in the face again.

No matter how much internal pain I seem to be in, Ty bursts into laughter once more.

"Thanks, Ty," I say. "I'm _dying_ here and you're laughing at me."

"You're not dying," Ty says confidently. "You're just hung-over."

What's the difference?

"Rum…" I mumble blankly.

I feel hands gripping my arms and I am suddenly on my feet. I sway for a moment as I try to think around the throbbing in my head. Standing doesn't work for me and I am helpless as I feel myself fall back to the ground. Ty catches me though and pulls me back against his hard chest. I cover my face with my hands to hide my blush.

"It's nearly eight," Ty says. His voice is clear in my ear and I can feel it in my back. I shiver and my heart does something weird. _Whoosh_. I'm blushing all over again. "You'd better get inside before Jack gets back and Heartland is up and running for the day."

I vaguely nod, knowing that he is right. I push off from his chest and walk a few steps. My body is uncharacteristically heavy. I feel like a load of bricks rolling along. Quite the opposite from last night when I felt like I was floating on the air. My head sways and my stomach churns. Now I feel like a load of bricks in the middle of a storm on the ocean. A seasick load of bricks… A _very_ seasick load of bricks.

Oh, God. Please don't let me throw up in front of Ty. Please.

I try another step. It fails just as miserably. The sun kills. I can barely open my eyes. I give up my valiant effort and just let myself fall back to the ground. I bury my head in my knees and roll onto my side.

Ty kneels down next to me and his big hand is cool on my hot, bare back. "Amy?" he says worriedly, pushing my hair from my face. He tries to pull my hands away from my face but I won't let him do that. "Are you okay?"

"Turn off the sun," I moan pathetically.

A choking noise comes from behind me. Ty is trying to keep his laughter hidden. "You're laughing at me again," I accuse weakly. "This is _not_ funny."

"I'm sorry," he says. "You're right, it's not funny." Whether or not he has me convinced, I cannot decide. He hauls me to my feet. "Come on. I can't turn off the sun but I _can_ get you into the house."

I murmur my agreement to his plan and let him lead up the long drive. Through my squinted, watery eyes, the old farmhouse seems to be eons away.

"Brett drove Soraya home earlier this morning," Ty says when he catches me staring at Soraya's little red car still parked in front of the house. "Brett seemed to be in pretty good shape. Said she didn't drink much of anything at all. Which means that you consumed about half a bottle of rum by yourself," Ty says.

I am silent.

"Quite personally," Ty continues, "I'm a little impressed. A half bottle of rum and you've managed to keep it all down." So far…

If I didn't feel so horrible I would have blushed, smacked him, and then blushed some more. But all I can think about right now is getting inside the house before I can prove him wrong.

"Why were you even here so late last night?" I ask Ty as he leads me slowly up the front steps. I stumble on one and he catches me.

"I left around five to pick up an order of feed. We were running low on that special type that Jekyll and Hyde need so I figured I'd run out and get some so they'd have enough until they go back home next week. It took a little longer then I had expected though and it was my mom's birthday so I had to head home to have dinner with my family. I came back here at about eleven. And it's a good thing I did too," he says ruefully as he sits me down on the couch. "Who knows where you would have gotten to if I hadn't found you?"

He disappears for a moment and returns with a glass of deliciously cold looking water. I grab it from him and gulp it down. He takes the empty glass from me and sits on the coffee table in front of my couch. I collapse onto the couch and press my face against the cool pillow.

Ty stands up after a moment. "I should probably get down to start on the horses," he says. "Are you going to be okay if I leave you alone for a while?"

"Yeah," I say, sitting up and rubbing my head. "I have some Advil and a shower with my name on them waiting for me upstairs."

"Okay," he says. Now the brief silence borders on awkward. He takes a step closer to me and my breath catches in my throat. But he stops short and steps back again. "Don't sleep on your back," he says lightly with one of those grins of his.

I smile wryly back at him. "Don't worry," I say.

Once upstairs, I only get as far as popping a few Advil. My eyes can no longer even fight to stay open and I collapse on my bed.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

My eyes open hours later. I still feel groggy but not nearly as close to death as I was. The Advil seems to be working and the throb in my head has been reduced to a duller one. The sun shines in bright from my window but it isn't nearly as hard to focus my vision. The clock next to my bed says one. I can't believe it is so late in the afternoon.

After I take my shower I feel more human. I pull my hair back into a ponytail, toss on a pair of jeans and zip a fleece up over my t-shirt before heading downstairs.

Grandpa is sitting at the kitchen table with a pile of papers spread in front of him. "Well good morning, Sleeping Beauty!" he jokes as I trudge into the kitchen.

I smile and get myself a glass of water. I sit down across from him at the table. "G'morning."

Grandpa sets his newspaper to the side and looks at me. "Ty said you weren't feeling well this morning so he sent you back inside."

I look up at him and blink. "Oh. Yeah," I say slowly. Grandpa watches me, waiting for a more substantial answer then that. "I had a killer headache this morning so I came back inside and went to sleep." I shrug, tracing the rim of my glass with a finger. "I was probably up too late last night… I was at the movies with Soraya and Brett and the movie started late and was longer than we thought… and you know that sometimes the movie theater popcorn doesn't agree with my… head…" I stop my rambling. I smile at Grandpa. "I feel tons better now though."

I push my water glass aside and push my feet into my muck boots. I tuck my jeans into the high tops. "I'm going to go down and help Ty," I tell Grandpa, giving him a peck on the cheek. "I feel guilty about leaving him all alone to do everything today."

I frown, deep in thought, as I trudge as slowly as I possibly can down to the barn that I know holds Ty. I can barely think of how to face him, let alone how to _speak _a coherent thought to him. At least he knows that I… that I _like _him now. A high point of being inebriated. I would never, ever, _ever_, have had the courage to tell him sober. I sigh and swing my arms next to my sides. At least he knows. It'll all be for the better.

_Sure, Amy. "It's all for the better." __Phsaw__ Keep telling yourself that. _

I frown again, this time at my subconscious. Something possesses me to—God help me—argue back.

He kissed me back. That had to mean _something. _

_He's a boy. __A teenage a boy.__ You were wearing practically no clothes._

Make your point or get on with it.

_Tell me the last teenage boy—_man_—you know that wasn't all over a half naked girl who was all over _him.

Ty's not like that.

_Bo__ys will be boys—or, in his case…__ men will be men._

You're wrong, he's not—

"Hey, Ames, you all right?"

"What? I, oh—ouch!"

I jump back, the movement made slightly awkward by Ty's arms supporting me. The result is some sort of bizarre stumbling movement across the entrance of the barn—the barn that I never even comprehended coming into.

"Whoa there," Ty laughs. Is it just me or does has he been laughing at me a lot more than usual these days? "Slow down." Finally he gets me to stand still on solid ground. I see, with an embarrassed blush, that we are actually quite farther from the barn then I had thought, somewhere in the grass on the side of it actually.

"Um wow, sorry," I mumble, rubbing my forehead from where I smacked it against his chest—which is really quite hard. He looks at me funny. I look around uncomfortably before glancing back at him. I can barely keep his gaze. "What?"

He grins. "You were talking to yourself. Well actually, it sounded more like you were _arguing _with yourself but…"

"What did I say?" the question leaves my mouth through unbidden lips. I quickly realize what I have said… and I try to decide whether or not I _really _actually want to hear the answer to it. Depending on how much he has heard, that answer can go one of two ways: one very embarrassing and one completely and utterly, world altering humiliating. Quite personally, I am praying for the first of those two options.

Ty looks at me funny. "Something about men and boys…" he grins wickedly down at me, crossing his arms over his wide chest. I can't help but gulp. "Should I ask?" he takes a step closer to me and I stumble back one. He finds this funny. I find myself terrified and wishing for some rum—maybe even just a _drop._

"Er," is my intelligent response. "It really wasn't anything. I was just…"

"Arguing with yourself?" Ty finishes for me helpfully.

"No," I say firmly.

Suddenly, he's closer to me again and it seems as though I have run out of places to run to. The back of my knees hit a pile of hay bales and the only thing that stops me from falling over backwards are his hands on my hips. My arms fly out to try and balance my tilting body and end up landing, against _all _odds, on his shoulders. His nose runs down mine and I suddenly find it hard to breathe, the wild fluttering of my heart has left me choked.

"Ty." I want to say something but, in the end, all I can manage to get out is his name. He lets out a short, breathy laugh. His hands move around my back and my body arches closer against him—all on its own accord, I _swear_. With his face so close to mine, his emerald eyes are smoldering. His lips just barely brush against mine and I swear my heart stops. I gasp. On their own accord—completely their own—my arms are around his neck and my fingers are tangled in his hair.

"What about—" I gasp as his lips trail down, just _barely _there, along my jaw. I pull him closer to me but try my hardest to remember what I was trying to say.

"What about _what_?" he whispers against my cheek.

"Um." I try to remember. I really do. But I just can't seem to do it. "Something about… something being illegal," I finally manage and I am quite proud of myself.

He laughs breathily into my ear. I can barely stand it. "_Some_thing about being illegal?"

"Yes," I say with as much confidence I can muster as he pulls my hips closer to his. "Sixteen…. Nineteen… something about it being very bad and being arrested and..." my head involuntarily tilts back as he switches his attention to the other side of my face. "And you don't want to be arrested… and something about it being… bad, I think, maybe…" I am no longer quite sure what I am saying.

"On the contrary, my dear," Ty says in a voice I didn't even know he _had_, "it has _everything _to do with being illegal."

I was coming to the conclusion that… Ty was the single most confusing person in the world.

"I'm trying to understand the way your mind is working right now," I admit, my own voice adopting a rather embarrassing state as well.

"Really?" he chuckles against my neck. "How's that going for you?"

"It's not working… at all," I say. My fingers develop a mind of their own and drag themselves through his hair. The feel of his long, soft hair running through my fingers makes me feel like I never want to let go. "I used to think I knew everything about you but now…. Now I have no idea."

"That might be a good thing."

His lips find that little spot under my ear, the little grove above my upper lip, my nose, my chin. When his lips brush against the corners of my lips, the tops, the bottoms, but never really touching them the way I crave them to.

"Ty," I say again, or I _try _to say it. Whether or not it comes out as something more than _saying it _is completely out of my control. A girl can only do so well when a guy like _Ty_ is doing… _things _to her.

His lips move gently across my temple and his hands slide up to the bottom of my ribs. "Relax, Amy," he says. Boy is _that _not the problem at the moment. "I'm only trying to see if your hangover is doing better." I can feel his lips curve into a small smile against my temple.

"Wh-what?" I gasp out, completely losing all rational train of thought. The wisps of it I had are long gone. "My…" in the back of my mind I know what he is talking about but in the front of mind, all I am concerned about is getting him to kiss me where I want him to most of all. His lips are all over my face and his hands are on my hips and my back. My hands are in his hair and running over his shoulders.

"Hangover?" I question blankly, like the word is a totally new and foreign concept to me.

Ty laughs and I love the sound. Somehow it doesn't even matter that he is laughing at _me_ anymore.

"Feeling better?"

"Hmmm." He pulls his head away from me and looks into my face. His nose brushes against mine and I sigh. My fingers tighten around the back of his neck while his trace along the line of skin they have cleared at the top of my jeans. "I thought we shouldn't do this… you know, arrestation…"

He pulls back further and looks down at me with an amused look shining in his emerald eyes. "Arrestation?" I nod. "Are you sure you're not still drunk?" he teases me.

"Are _you _drunk?" I don't even honestly have the slimmest of ideas of what I'm saying. That is my only defense.

"You're silly," his voice is low as his face lowers towards me. I glance at his mouth, and then back up into his smoldering eyes. I close my eyes because he is _so close _and I can't see his magnificent green eyes anymore.

"Amy! Ty! Where are you?"

The raised voice causes Ty to jerk backwards, muttering a curse under his breath. I'm breathing hard and my head is foggy, I can't quite comprehend what has just happened—or, rather, what _hasn't_ just happened. But Ty recognizes the voice—probably the best for us both, I try to convince myself. He pulls away sharply but my arms are still firmly around his neck and pull him back forwards. At the moment, I can barely hold my own weight, let alone the weight of a rather large man falling onto me. As a result, we both are sent toppling backwards into the hale bales—not even just hay, but hay _bales_, so it's not the most comfortable landing, especially when there's a good 160 pounds of pure muscle landing on top of you. The breath is punched out of my chest and I and left breathless—in the same way and a different way than before.

We are reeling backwards over the bales and I tumble from the ledge completely and land with a quite significant thump on the hard ground below. Ty lands half on me and half off me. He lies still for a moment and then groans. I can't do anything but lay their motionless.

Grandpa calls our names once more before leaving.

I prop myself up on my arms and hang my head. I look up at Ty. He's sitting there, still looking rather stunned, with pieces of hay stuck in his hair. I can't help but laugh. The pounding in my head comes back full force and I groan, collapsing back onto the ground, lying on my back.

Ty looks down at me and gently picks a piece of hay out of my hair before brushing some stray strands back out of my eyes.

"Head hurt?"

I only groan miserably in response.

"I told you this was I bad idea."

I can do little more than huff indignantly, even though I'd love to do so much more.

We sit there in silence for several minutes, gathering ourselves again after our recent, erm, _activities_.

I tilt my head to the side and look up at Ty. "You owe me," I announced. "Now it's _my_ turn to watch _you_ suffer."

Ty blinks. "I'm not sure I like the sound of that."

I grin, throwing an arm over my eyes to block out the sun. I find it remarkable that we are in almost exactly the same positions as we were this morning. "Oh yes," I say. "Get the rum ready."

"Whoa," Ty says abruptly. "Who said you got to see _me_ drunk?"

Now it is my turn to blink. "You did."

"When?"

"Last night."

"How do you remember?"

I laugh humorously. "I remember everything."

"Everything?" I can tell that he is skeptical.

"Yes," I assure him. "_Everything._"

"Interesting." He pauses. "I have to follow up on my statement that you are an absolutely amazing drunk."

"What are you like drunk?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" he teases me.

"I actually would, thanks," I counter.

Ty sighs. "I could actually use some of whatever it was you were drinking last night right about now."

"Rum," I say blankly.

"Pardon?"

"It was _rum_," I stress the word.

"Right," Ty says. "Was it strong?"

"Um… yes?" I guess. I can hear him laugh next to me. "Well I would _suppose _so, wouldn't you?"

That only seems to encourage Ty's laughter even more. "Well then. Where is this rum you're so fond of?"

"I've been asking myself that question since last night…" I mumble so quiet that I can hope that he didn't hear me. But I have no such luck, as usual. And just as my day began, it ends: with Ty laughing hysterically at me. And all over the _rum _too.

**Bad Ty!! ****Very, very naughty stable boy! Does he not fear ****arrestation****Shame on you… ****muahaha**

**My Christmas gift to all of you: some shameless ****AmyTy-ishness**

**Drunk Ty is next to come. When? I can't honestly tell you, but it will be eventually. **

**Now, I am off to write something else! I'm thinking chapters for TUP, TR and RS are soon to come, how ****bout**** it? I've actually already started RS… and yes, a couple of lines ****DOES**** count!! ****Haha**

**Still searching for that rum, **

**Steph ****Malfoy**


End file.
